Collapsible refrigerator.



M. GONZALEZ.

coLLAPslBLE nfrmefmoa.

APPLICATION HLED SEPT.6| |918. 1,321,091 Patented Nov. 11, 1919n NORA/EVS MIGUEL GONZALEZ, 0F NEW YORK, N'. Y. f

coLLArsrBLE REFRIGERATOR y To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, MIGUEL GONZALEZ, a citizen of the United States,'residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Refrigerators, of whichy 'sides and top and obviously these heavy constructions are difficult to handle, not only dueto their heavy construction-,but due also to their bulk which render then unwieldly. These conventional forms of ice boxes when not lin use take up a material amount of space. which is valuable in storage s ace, especlally on freight cars and ships an unless properly packed are liable to become damaged.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a collapsible form of ice box, the parts of which may be condensed into a relatively small space' when packed for storage or shipment and which when opened up will form an ice box of. approved heat insulating properties and of pleasing appearance.

-It is vdesirable in this connection to provide a construction in which the number of loose parts are reduced to a minimum and to so construct the parts that they may be` easily and readily`asse1nbled to form the completed ice box. i

It is a further object of the invention to provide a collapsible construction of ice box section so designed that when moved into its opened position any necessary joints between the parts will `be securely sealed andvthus maintain at the joints at least the same extent of heat insulation vas is provided by the sides ifnot entirely to defeat any tendency to heat leakage at the joints. i

Various 'otherobjects and advantages of the invention will be in part obvious from an inspection of the accompanying drawings and yin part will be more fully set forth in the following particular description of one form of mechanism embodying my in- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led ,September 6,1918. Serial No. 252,829.

Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

vention, and the invention alsoconsists in certain new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed. Referring to the accompanying drawlngssv Figure 1 is a View in perspective of a bullt up 1ce box illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken parallel to the front of the ice box shown in Fig. l and in part taken on the line M of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View of the upper portion of the ice box, taken at right angles to the view shown in Fig. 2 and on the line 3-3 vof Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken through one of the sections and on the line 4 4 of F ig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through the front and end sides of one of the sections when they tion; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, detailed view of one of the connections between adjacent sections, shown in several figures.

In the following description and in the claims, parts will be identified by specific names for convenience of expression but they are intended to be as generic in their application to similar parts as the art will permit.

The ice box is of a built up sectional type and comprises a bottom section 10, a plurality 'of intermediate sections 11 and a top section 12, disposed in order one upon the other to form the structure similar to known forms of book cases. The bottom section l0 is of the sanitary base typeprovided with legs 13 and containing a drlp Water pan 14, This pan is drained through a faucet 15 projecting from the frontof the base section as shown in Fig. 1. In general all pro# are collapsed into folded posijections are confined to the front andy reary connected to opposite edges of the front side 16. as shown in Fig. 4. This pivotal connection is provided by L-shaped hinges 18, one arm 19 of wh-ich is inset and secured to the front side 16 adjacent the upper and lower edges thereof. The other arm 20 of each hinge extends rearwardly and is pivoted( at its free end to the side section at such a distance from lthe front side so as to permit the Vend sections to be folded one on top of the other and both superimposed on the front side as shown in Fig. 5. The sides of the sections are designed to possess heat insulating properties following the approved construction of* well insulated ice box sides and in order to form a basis for this feature in the present disclosure, the sides are shown to contain a filler 21 of heat insulating substance. The joint between t-he front and end sides is beveled and contains a compressible packing 22 arranged so that when the sides are moved into their open position, shown in Fig. 4, the packing is compressed thus tending to defeat any possibility of heat leakage from the ice box through the sides at the joints. The rear edges ofboth end sides is stepped inwardly to provide an inwardly beveled seat 23. A rear side 24 of approximately the size of the front side 16' isdesigned to fit on said seat and to extend between the end sections in such a manner as td force the same apart intoltheir open position and at the same time strain the sides on their hinges so as to place the packing 22 under compression. Packing 25 is carried by the seated parts of the rear side 24, which packing is designed to be placed under compression When the rear side is forced into its fitted position on the seat 23. It has been proposed to connect all four sides of the sections together but it has been found that the parts of the completed box warp under the climatic conditions in certain countries to such an extent that the parts could not be demounted and reassembled.'

`Where the insert type of back section is used, a fit is provided even though the parts have warped and the rear side can be hammered loose without damage to the same.

The rear side is locked in position by a suitable wedging clamp 26 one preferred form of which isvillustrated in Fig. 6 and hereinafter described in connection with the locking of the sections to each other. Each upper section has an interfitting seating connection with the next adjacent lower section and is provided with a depending rim 28, the inner side of which is beveled to form an outwardly inclined surface 29 so arranged Ithat the weight of the superimposed sections will tend to press the rim 28 into wedging engagement with a coacting seat 30 formed at the upper edge of the next adjacent lowermost sections. Packing 31 is gether by means of a clamping device, such v as is shown in Fig. 6. The clamp includes an arm 33 hinged to one of the sides and lapping the joint which it is desired to close. The arm is provided with a lever 34 pivoted thereto adjacent its free end. The lever is pivoted intermediate its ends, one end of which lever constitutes anactuating handle 35 and the other end of which lever constitutes a heavy wedging finger 36, designed to engage vunder a flange 37 fixed to the other section side. rlfhe parts are so arranged that the finger is positioned under the flange and then by forcing the handle into position'against the surface of the side as shown in Fig. 6, oneof the sides is forced toward the other compressing the insulating packing therebetween.` y

In order to carry out the idea of interchangeability of the intermediate sections they are each shown to be provided with a door 38v of conventional form but it is to be understood that some of the front sides may be made solid as illustrated for the end or rear sides and that one door may be sufiicient for more than one section space in the complete ice-box.`

The top section 12 is of conventional form including a depending rim 38 having an in terfitting engagement with the uppermost of the intermediate sections as has pireviously been described for the rims 28.

Each ofthe intermediate sections is provided with a plurality of angle brackets 39 designed to support bridge members in position within the interior of the completed ice box. These bridge members may be in the form of shelves 41 preferably positioned on a line with the lower edges of the doors of the sections. The upper bridgemember may be designed to constitute an ice pan 42 for the ice thereby causing the uppermost section to constitute an iceJ compartment. Each of the bridge members is provided with a depending Y-tube 43, the lower end of which is reduced to yform a nozzle 44 extending below the uppermost edge of the next adjacent lower section. Instead of the tube 43 being carried by the bridging members, it is obviously within the scope of this invention to make these tubular members separable from the cabinet forming parts or, in some constructions, to fasten them directly to the intermediate sections, as is Lampe# next adjacent lower section. These tubes.

`are designed to telescope one'into the other and with the lowermost one extending into the pan 14 so as to form a drain tube from the ice compartment into the drip pan. This\tube is lengthened or shortened with the addition to or subtraction from the completed box of intermediate sections.

-In operation and assuming that the box is in the completed form shown in Fig 1 the parts are loosened by throwing off the clutch levers and the sections are demounted in order by lifting the sections upwardly one off the other. The shelf, tube and other bridging members are lifted out and the top section taking the place of the lowermost intermediate section when it is desired to stack the demounted parts. Each of the intermediate sections is then folded, first by removing the rear side and then folding the end sides, one upon the other, as shown in Fig. 5. The arrangement of the hinge members is'such that the-sides can lie flat one on the other without breaking their pivotal connections. The intermediate sections are then piled one upon the other and suitably crated so as to form a neat comp-act assemblage suitable for storage and shipment.

By means of a device of this character all of the advantages inherent in approved constructions of ice boxes are retained, and at the same time there is provided a construction whichcan be packed within small space thus facilitating the 'ease of handling. Where the ice box is of large construction it is possible to so pack the separable parts that these parts can be readily mounted on .the backs of animals and carried over mounf tainous and other rough trails.-

The ice box is sanitary, ready access is provided to the interior thereof to clean the same, and occasionally it can be opened out fiat on the ground so as tohave the interior subjected to the action of direct sunlight. ready access is provided to all of the small parts and particularly it is easy to clean the drain tube sections due to their relatively Y short lengths. In case the packing should deteriorate with use, a simple and convenient piece of rubber or other packing materialmay be quickly cut to shape and utilized in place of the preformed packing Vconstructed at the factory. A

While I have shown and described, and have pointed out in the annexed claims, certain novel features of my invention, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may 'be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim g 1. In an ice box, the combination including a pair of hollow sections, each having an upstanding outlining heat insulating wall with the walls disposed one upon the other to form when assembled a part of the com-v pleted ice box, compressible packing carried by the edge of oneof the walls and coacting with the adjacent edge of the vnext contiguous wa'll to form an air tight joint be-` tween the sections, said joint designed to c0- operate with the heat insulated walls to minimize leakage of heat into the interior of the ice box and means extending across the joint for drawing the contiguous walls toward each other and thus compress the packing. f l 2. In an ice box, the combinationof a pair of hollow superimposed sections, each formed of an upstanding outlining wall having poor heat conducting properties and inclosing a heat insulated space in the completed ice box,'said sections contacting along adjacent edges of their walls to form an air tight joint, said joint bein`g` tortuous and havi a portion` inclined downwardly where y the weight of the upper section will tend to cause the upper section to settle into a wedging engagement with the lower section and thus tend to seal the joint against heat leakage between the sections.

3. In an iceybox, the combination of a pair of hollow superimposed sections, each formed of an upstanding outlining wall f having poor heat conducting properties and inclosingv a heat insulated space in the completed ice box, said sections contacting along adjacent edges of their walls to form an air tight joint, said joint being inclined downwardly whereby the weight of the upper section will tend to cause the upper section to settle into a wedging engagement with the lower section and thus tend to seal the joint against heat leakage between the sections and compressible heat insulating packingV material dis osed between theadjacent sections at the joint.

4. In an ice box, the combination of a .pairof hollow superimposed sections, each formed of an upstanding outlining wall having poor heat conducting properties and incloslng a heat insulated space in the completed ice box, said sections contacting along adjacent edges of their walls to form an air tight joint, said joint being inclined downwardly whereby the weight of the up-l per section will tend to cause the upper section to settle into a wedging engagement with the lower section and thus tend to seal the joint against heat leakage between the sections, compressible packing material disposed between the adjacent sections at thebe opened up to form three sides of a four-y sided wall of the ice box section, a fourth side and meansvfor locking the four sides -relative to each other yin said last named position.

6. A foldable section of a knock down ice box, said section comprising more than two wall sides, each side designed to minimize the conductivity of heat therethrou h, means for pivotally connecting the si es whereby the connected sides in one position may be folded into parallel relation with -one side upon the other and in another position may be opened up to form part of a wall of the ice boxsection and means for locking the sides relative to each other in said last namedV position.

. 7 A foldable section of a knock down ice box, said section comprising more than two wall sides, each side designedy to minimize the conductivity of heat therethrough, means for pivotally connecting the sides whereby the connected sides in one position may be folded into parallel relation with one side upon the other and in another position may be opened up to form part of a wall of the ice box section, compressible packing in the joints between adjacent edges of contiguous sides and means for locking the sides in position to place said packing under compression thereby to minimize the possibilityY of heat leakage through the joints, and means engaging said pair of side walls and coacting with said pivotal connection for insuring a tight jointalong said bevel edges.

8. A foldable ice box section including a pair of wall sides, each designed to minimize the conductivity of heat therethroughI and a pivotal connection between said sides for permitting the sides to be folded one upon the other in position convenient for packing,

said sides provided with bevel edges coacting, a compressible'packing in the joint between said sidesand means for securing the sides in position with the packing tightly compressed in the joint.

10. An ice box section open at top and bottom and comprising a front side and two end sides, pivotal means permanently connecting said front side with each of said end sides, a separable rear side itted between said end sides to hold the same in open position and means for securing said rear side in position thereby to hol'd the sides of the Section in operative position relative to each other between the front side and the adjacent end sides.

11. An ice box section open at top and bottom and including a plurality of sides comprising a front side and two end sides, pivotal means permanently connecting said front side with each of said end sides, a packing positioned in the joints formed between the front and the two end sides and a separable rear side adapted to be disposed between the end sides to force the same apart and thus compress the packing in the joints.

12. A section of an ice box including a plurality of wall sides pivotally connected and adapted to be folded iiat one on the other, means for securing said sides inposition to form the section and said section provided with means for supporting a bridge piece within the ,completed ice ox.

Signed atl New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York this 24th day of August, A. D. 1918.

MIGUEL GONZALEZ. 

